Using hormone replacement therapy to combat the menopause is safe, medical
experts have claimed.

Hundreds of thousands of women have suffered unnecessarily over the last decade as debate raged over the use of the treatments, they say.

But the studies that condemned HRT were “flawed” and the benefits outweigh the risks, according to new guidance from the British Menopause Society (BMS).

As they seek to reassure patients they have called on GPs to prescribe the drug to any woman suffering with unpleasant menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes and mood changes.

The medication is also known to provide bone protection in later life.

However, professionals are still divided over the use of HRT, with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists continuing to advise that it should only be used for a limited period by women with serious menopausal symptoms, the Daily Mail reported.

Once a woman has been taking HRT for five years, a doctor is expected to discuss the risks before continuing the treatment.

The uptake of HRT halved and an estimated one million British women stopped taking it after two studies found it was linked to an increased risk of heart disease and breast cancer.

“Over the last 11 years, HRT has changed from being branded the “elixir of youth” to being considered extremely risky and only to be used in certain circumstances,” a BMS spokesperson said.

“Since the publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial in 2002, and the Million Women study (MWS) in 2003, confusion and controversy has surrounded the use of HRT and the known benefits have often been forgotten.”

But the emerging consensus is that they benefits usually outweigh the risks and doctors should consider the latest guidelines when offering prescriptions, Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Helen Buckler, from the University of Manchester, said.

She told the Cheltenham Science Festival that the two studies which cause the controversy were scientifically unreliable and the new advice states it should be prescribed to a slightly wider age range if necessary.

“Arbitrary limits should not be placed on the duration of usage of HRT; if symptoms persist, the benefits of hormone therapy usually outweigh the risks,” the guidelines add.

The scare began when the WHI study was abandoned three years early as researchers claimed the women were at higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease and strokes.

This contradicted previous - and later - research which suggested it guarded against heart problems.

A year later the MWS study, part funded by Cancer Research, said HRT doubled breast cancer risk. A review last year found this research was “unreliable and defective”.

There are some younger doctors who wrongly believe that the risks outweigh the benefits and have therefore never prescribed HRT, experts have warned.

Cancer Research UK maintains that there is a link between breast cancer and treatment.